Mixing New Tangs With Established Tangs

[dunc101]

Ok so the clock reset last night as I got my chev . I feed it this morning and so far its only eating mysis .The purple is eating everything but is very shy, which concerns me a little. I have them separated with eggcrate. The chev is also swimming all over the place. On Monday I will start the prazi . What is the tank transfer method? Does it stress the fish out if it is what I think it is. BTW I only have one tank for qt . I have been doing some reading and found an older thread on another site about using garlic. basically just mince up some garlic let it soak,strain it,and add it to the tank. supposedly it helps with ich and is reef safe. I am not to crazy about using copper since it won't be in the dt when they finally go in. Has anyone used the garlic method before or is it a waste of time?

The tank transfer method is where you transfer your fish to a new tank every 2 to 3 days. The old tank that you just transferred from gets a 100% water change and then you place it back in that tank in 2 to 3 days and keep repeating the process.

The garlic is good for the immune system, but by no means does it eradicate a parasite. Hypo, copper, or tank transfer are really the only methods for ich/crypto. Also note that hypo does not cover as many "diseases" as copper can like marine velvet.

 

[fishguy597]

A little update, the chev started showing signs of ich today. Matched up the ph and temp for a fw dip. it was breathing a little heavy so fingers crossed. the purple is a champ so far. Also added some copper to the system. In a few days I'll add some prozi but I want it to recover a little. Since this fish will be going into a reef how long should I keep it in copper? Then how long should I keep it in just regular sw. before adding to the dt?

 

[Dr Colliebreath]

Given that you have seen signs of ich, I would run the copper 5-6 weeks. Use Cupramine and remove the live rock as it will soak up some of the copper and reduce the concentration of copper in the water. Ramp the Cupramine dose up more slowly than called for in the instructions.

I would remove the copper with carbon or cuprasorb, and then introduce the fish to your DT a couple of days later.

 

[fishguy597]

R.I.P. chev

 

[anbosu]

You are way more likely to kill a fish with a freshwater dip than you are to cure anything. I guess you learned that the hard way.

I would recommend dosing Cupramine for the remaining fish.

 

[fishguy597]

I used mardel copper afterthe fwd. the chev was going down hill quick. its eyes started fogging and wasn't eating . Not to mention the white splotches on its head. Its scales were starting starting to flake. it just happened so quick.I was hoping that's was times since it started eating heavy. it was a judgement call cause I do not believe it would've made it much longer otherwise. BTW I have fw dipped plenty of fish and they have been just fine. but I would agree that its worse on a frail fish. But I'm pretty bummed about it.

 

[Dr Colliebreath]

It is always a shame to lose a fish, but with all you described as being wrong at the end it doesn't sound like there was anything you could do the past day or two. It doesn't sound like the fw dip was the problem. The fish already was a goner. Unfortunately, they seem to hide or mask many symptoms of disease until it is too late.

 

[Triton_Z]

You are way more likely to kill a fish with a freshwater dip than you are to cure anything. I guess you learned that the hard way.

I disagree.

Temperature and pH adjusted freshwater baths have their place in the treatment of many infestations we encounter. I use it routinely for prophylactic treatment of external parasites for new fish going into QT. However, a FW bath/dip would not be an effective treatment for ich. The bath may provide some temporary relief, but Hypo or Copper use would be most effective.

I agree with Dr C. Sounds like secondary infections would have made it difficult to pull this tang through. Sorry for your loss.

 

[fishguy597]

BTW quick correction instead of eating heavy it was supposed to be breathing heavy (stupid phone spellcheck). I was thinking that it had flukes or something. thanks though guys I feel a little better about my judgment call.

My buddy was telling me that when a tang starts flicking its dorsel and anal fins its a sighn of ich . is there any truth to that?

 

[fishguy597]

A little update. I got my hands on another chevron and left it in qt with the purple for 6weeks. both fish were in copper,eating great, and no albums of ich or other problems. I built two fish holders 6"x12 out of egg crate. I aclamated the fish for 3 hours before putting them into the holders inside my reef. They were in there for five days and looked great. I let them out and there was some squabbling. at first but over a few days it stopped. The worst was between the purple and Atlantic blue. the purple, ab,and chev all broke out with ich such I figured was due to stress. With in two days the ab and chevron cleared up. The problem is the purple hasn't gotten any better yet and this is day 4. I have been keeping an eye out for aggression and it has subsided . I have been soaking nori ,mysis,rods,and blood worms in garlic. Should I just give him some more time? It is eating like a pig except for when I give it life line. It still has vibrant color and isn't breathing heavy. should I consider getting a cleaner wrass? thx.

 

[reeferstace]

You have ick in your display tank. A cleaner wrasse will do nothing to remove ick. It may clean dead skin cells off your fish. When the ick spots disappear it does not mean the ick is gone. The parasite is still in your tank and can come back at anytime. A long (8-10 week) fallow period is the best way to remove ick from your tank. To remove ick from your fish, remove them and treat using one of the preferred methods.

 

[fishguy597]

To my understanding I thought ick is always present inside of a reef tank. I thought it was up to the fish's immune system to fight off the ick. The fish that I added were in quarantine for 6 weeks and never displayed any ick. The fish inside of my tank have been in there for 2 years and have never shown ick. Once I added the 2 new tangs into the tank, they didn't have any ick. The ick only popped up when I released these 2 into the tank and I figured it was due to stress. Shouldn't it go away by itself with a proper diet? I followed proper quarantine guidelines. What am I missing and how could this have occurred other than through stress? How much time should I give them before I tear down my tank to catch the fish & put them back into quarantine?